wiring problems

[paulsco]

Hi,

I bought a RHD dash harness from Autosparks to replace my tatty and ?modified? LHD one. I have to say I am a little disappointed with this, as a lot of the wires are not as thick as the originals, which Autosparks explain on their web site, but it is not as original and some of the connectors are spades where they should be bullet or eyelet connectors or Vic versa, but easy enough to get around.

My main problem with it was that it was missing the brown/white and a couple of white?s for the ignition switch and starter button, which were included in my LHD wiring harness; I had to made up some wires to attach these.

I am also missing some wires to the brake reservoir on the right, so I thought I would check out additional wiring harnesses.

While doing this I notice from the SNG catalogue that there is an additional cable/harness C24494 that states it is for ?ammeter, ignition and road light switch connector?; is that why I was missing the connections to the ignition switch in the RHD harness?

There is also a cable available C24468, which is said to be for ?cable starter switch connector?

I note also that there is a cable for brake fluid level warning lamp C24655; is this the cable the reservoir?

If so, is it a single cable with the earth separate and connected somewhere on the engine side of the bulkhead (where), or is it a duel wire from behind the dash?

I would just like to add a special thanks to Andrew Honeychurch who posted some pictures of the dash wiring in one of the links on this site, which I found invaluable whilst wiring my dash. http://s714.photobucket.com/user/vanqui ... t=3&page=4

Paul

[neil4444]

Hi Paul,

I'm doing same job on my 62 and I must also convey huge thanks to Andrew for his photos.

The brake fluid cable is a red / green braided cable which is paired with an earth - they are held together via a loose plastic sheathing. The red/green connects inside the bulkhead & comes through small hole beneath bottle cage. The earth attaches somewhere on the engine side (I guess one of the cage fixings but my cage isn't in place at present).

Both cables were supplied to me with just single terminals but I needed 2 terminals on each (1 for each bottle) so had to adjust it.

HTH.

Regards,

[paulsco]

Hi Neil,

I assume yours is a three bottle; I imagine the cable was designed to fit the 4.2.
I have discovered that all of these cables are special order from SNG.

I have a couple of old harnesses. I think I will dig out the appropriate colour and make my own.
You have confirmed what I needed to know about the earth, so that is a great help.

Many Thanks

Paul

[Turnip]

Hi Paul.
I?m also at the stage of re-wiring my ?65 FHC. Because the original wiring diagram made me cross-eyed I?ve tried re-drawing the diagram and laying it out in a simpler format. It?s not quite finished yet, as I?ve not had chance yet to validate it against the actual wiring, but it might be of use. Please bear in mind it?s still draft, so if you find anything awry, please let me know.

If the internet gods are feeling benign you can find a copy at

,
otherwise I'll have to work out some other way of publishing it.

Simon

[christopher storey]

Coventry Auto Components sell at about ? 10 each the best wiring books I have seen , which divide the wiring into circuits and have "behind the dash" diagrams which show which wires go to which instruments/switches etc. The books are model specific , so for E types there are 4 books, for 2.8, S1 4.2, S2 and S3 . Available via sales@xkparts.com

[Turnip]

Hi,
While doing this I notice from the SNG catalogue that there is an additional cable/harness C24494 that states it is for ?ammeter, ignition and road light switch connector?; is that why I was missing the connections to the ignition switch in the RHD harness?
Paul

This sounds like the "Alternator Harness" that AutoSparks sell. It gives you the heavy duty wires from the alternator to the ammeter & light switch on the back of the dashboard. It's yet another cable to try & route nicely around the back.
Simon

[Turnip]

Coventry Auto Components sell at about ? 10 each the best wiring books I have seen , which divide the wiring into circuits and have "behind the dash" diagrams which show which wires go to which instruments/switches etc. The books are model specific , so for E types there are 4 books, for 2.8, S1 4.2, S2 and S3 . Available via sales@xkparts.com

I have the S1 4.2 book and it shows a fused fuel pump and a radiator fan relay, which the early 4.2s didn't have (I could be wrong). There was probably a wiring change somewhere along the line.
The fuel pump on my 4.2 didn't have a fuse, although it will have once I'm finished!

[Dave K]

Coventry Auto Components sell at about ? 10 each the best wiring books I have seen , which divide the wiring into circuits and have "behind the dash" diagrams which show which wires go to which instruments/switches etc. The books are model specific , so for E types there are 4 books, for 2.8, S1 4.2, S2 and S3 . Available via sales@xkparts.com

Christopher is dead right the Coventry auto components book is perfect, it lays out all the circuits and is easy to follow. It's a must have in my opinion.

Dave

[paulsco]

Simon,

Your wiring diagram is excellent it appears much simpler than the originals.
Unfortunately a bit late for me as I have completed most of my wiring with the use of my disassembly photos and my original looms that I had labelled while removing them.
The instrument panel was a replacement modified Mk2 Jaguar item, which I had to change the hinge arrangement and a few other details, but I digress; the ends of the old wires were still connected, so I knew how the switches and instruments were wired.

My main problem was the differences between the left and right hand drive looms, particularly the dash and this is where Andrews photos were so helpful.

I think a possible mistake was not ordering all the small additional cables; I had wrongly assumed that I had everything I needed.

I still have a couple of wiring questions, but more to do with originality than function.

Thanks,

Paul

[rfs1957]

Anyone playing with wiring might like to consider modifying their wiring diagram so it corresponds exactly to what there is in the car, I'd be surprised if nobody ended up changing anything even when pursuing originality.

I used Paint software (ubiquitous and free on every computer I've ever owned ?) to track and update everything I did, starting with a scanned original wiring diagram and using the cut/copy/paste functions plus a few straight-black line features which are a piece of cake even for a digital f---wit like me.

Mine ended up looking like this :



and if anyone wants to understand what motivated the changes they can see them here.

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